Leave it and install a proper tree well...3' diameter would be plenty. Build in a slight lip so that the run-off goes around the tree well rather than draining into it and filling it with water.

You've messed around with the root system so much recently that I wouldn't be surprised if it suffers next year. After two years in the ground, the roots would have already been well past a 1.5' radius.

First, never mess with a deciduous trees roots until it is fully dormant, fall or spring.

Raising the tree will mean root cutting, on a larger tree this could be an issue and will take several years for a 10' tree to recover from. Not to mention getting a root ball that size out of the ground in the first place.

Being the root flare was never buried since planting, there shouldn't have been any damage or set back to the trees health.

I'll have to agree with smivies, expand the area around the root flare a foot or so. Smaller bricks or the like can make a decorative 'well' around it. That way you have an indicator of what's happening around the root flare, like leaves/soil piling up. That way you can seasonally remove anything building up in the well around the tree.

Smivies thank you. So I can do as both you and Bill have suggested and raise the grade for drainage about two feet away from the trunk with bricks and then the soil inside the well will be at the height of the bottom of the root flare? I just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. I did do some messing around with the roots but I was as careful as I could be. I started with my pitch fork away from the drip line and dug until I came to the feeder roots. I left any larger roots alone. I think only a small handful of feeder roots came off and not all around the entire root ball. I then put my pitch fork underneath the root ball to see if it would budge and heard no ripping roots. I realized it wasn't going to come free at all and the rootball was breaking up a bit in the middle so I immediately put the dirt back and watered the tree in well again.

Thank you Mens Tourtousa. The root ball is too big for me to rinse I think but thank you for your suggestion.

Bill_minn_3B my tree is already lost most of it's leaves as are a lot of the trees here in Alberta, Canada. I was as careful as possible to start out from the tree with my pitchfork as mentioned to Smivies in my message above. Very little feeder roots were broken off and I did not touch any larger roots at all coming off the rootball. I am having surgery in a couple of weeks and this was my last chance to see if it could be lifted slightly higher before winter too. Things didn't go as planned. So would a foot away from the trunk in each direction be enough or should I go two feet in each direction for the brick "retaining wall"? Thank you! :)

if you bare root it.. at this size... i might wonder how you stake it up for 3 to 5 years.. before it can hold itself upright again ...

i like the tree well idea ... but a tough term to search.. heres the best i got: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=retaining+brick+tree+well&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

scroll down to the black and white one.. now there was a project ...

the idea is that the soil inside the well... is at proper root flare depth .... deeper than the surrounding soil ...

preventing water from getting in there would also be approved ....

tree wells gone bad... are built above grade.. and then filled in to make a flower bed ... thereby burying the root flare ... this is just wrong ... lol .. note the pix that have this ...

ken

The distance is up to you. :-) I think 3 ft. diameter total would suffice and less work than a larger one. That will give you a nice level area around the root flair to keep an eye on.

You can't do anything about it if there was any damage but that was probably minimal from what you describe. The feeder roots will elongate this time of year until the ground is almost frozen, so I think you will be fine and the tree will continue to progress as time goes on. :)

Thank you Bill. I’ll get this going this weekend. It’s hard to tell the depth and i still have to touch up the grading but here is my tree rootball that’s too deep.

This should be good for depth because two major roots branch off just below the soil level in the well. It looks like I only need to raise the soil outside the well about 2.5-3” max.

Yes, The goal is to create an area that will keep surrounding soil from washing in around the root crown. And there's probably more than one way to accomplish that.

A wall around the well establishes a perimeter that prevents soil from washing in and as Smivies mentioned, leaving the bricks or whatever you use a little above the surrounding grade should prevent that.

You should still use some mulch inside the well, keeping it a few inches away from the trunk.

Your's is actually an easy fix compared to a root flare much deeper than yours. And a shallow well, 2-3" will be much easier to maintain than a one, say 6-12". If I had to go that deep, I might consider getting a tree spade out to raise the tree or just outright replace the existing one. :-)

Thank you Bill. I’m going to get the bricks set up this weekend and get my flower bed finished up. Do you think the tree well could hold water when the ground is frozen and the snow melts in the spring? Just because the grade is slightly lower than the surrounding soil. I’m going to grade the soil downwards slightly to try to keep the water away from the trunk for drainage. Thank you for your help.

There's many choices for 'landscape blocks' at the garden centers, your biggest problem will be deciding which style and size to buy. :-)

Once I made a straight wall, using regular landscape blocks and had to lay a sheet of plastic on the side that was back filled, before the dirt went in, to kept the sand from working it's way in between the blocks. But those were the big blocks and my soil was pure sand.

When the ground is froze and everything is dormant, ice and water is no big deal. In my area, that's the norm for about 6 months of the winter.

And it's a good idea to slope the soil around the outside to help keep water away from flowing towards the well during hard rains.

https://www.lowes.ca/product/retaining-wall-block/oldcastle-9-in-x-3-in-beigeblack-mini-beltis-retaining-wall-block-459810?&cm_mmc=google--6444664991--75110159217-_-pla-817646263673&gclid=CjwKCAjw8ZHsBRA6EiwA7hw_sX6mwZuQfU4VvpqpQ0lIFuyNHUPe59XZ_vXrXtdOGSUwRCY2ng5LShoCLhsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Don't forget to post the required pictures when finished Carebear. ;^)

Thank you to everyone that commented and for your suggestions.. I’ve finished my tree well and hopefully it drains well as it hasn’t rained yet since I installed it.

Another photo

Nice!

I think the drainage will depend on the type of soil you have. Soil either drains good or it doesn't or any where in between. But with such a small well that's shallow, it's not going to retain that much water so no worries.